Towel-cabinet.



I. H. SHATTUCK. TOWEL CABINET. APPLICATION IfILED 00T.25, 1911.

1,092,405. .v Patented @11119-14 2 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

v i mi Run/Lm @Maho 1 H. SHATTUGK..

TOWEL CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.25, 1911.

. Patented Apr. 7, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

IRA n. sHATTUcK, or HoLLYwoon, CALIFORNIA.

TOWEL-CABINET.

Looaios.

Application led October 25, 1911. Serial No. 656,786.

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, IRA H. SHATTUCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hollywood, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Towel-Cabinet, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to a towel cabinet, being particularly designed for use in hotels, depots and similar places Where it is not expedient to supply each individual with a separate towel, and one of the main objects of my invention is to produce a towel cabinet adapted to contain a long stri of toweling and to expose successively di erent portions of the toweling in sucha manner that each individual using the towel may operate the cabinet to expose a clean portion of towel for his own use.

Another object of my invention is to produce a towel cabinet of the character described of simple and economical construction which may be operated with great simlicity. f

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter from the following specification.l

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only :Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying my invention, showing the manner in which a portion of the towel is exposed for use. Fig.

. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the cabinet. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line :v3- ac3 Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged side View of the feed roll supporting device. Fig. 5' is a face view of the towel spool or drum. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on `line na-m6 Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a verticalsectional vie'w of a cabinet showing a modiied form of myl invention. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of the device shown in Fig. 7. l

rlhe cabinet comprises a box or case 1 having a top and bottom 2 and 3, respectively, and side walls 4 and 5. The front of the cabinet 1 is provided with a door 6 having a mirror 7 in the upper part thereof, the door 6 being hinged at 8 to the wall 4 of the cabinet and held in closed position by any suitable fastening means, such as a lock 9. Upon the rear of the4 door 6 is'mounted a pair of brackets 10 extending inwardly therefrom, each bracket 10`being provided with a recess 11 to receive the ends of a rod or shaft 12 of a spool or drum 13. On the inner side of each bracket 10, slidably mounted on the shaft 12, is a washer 14 against the inner face of which abuts the 'outer end of a coil spring 15. The inner end of each coil spring A15 abuts against the adjacent end 13 of the drum and thereby holds the drum 13 in central position between the brackets.

yThe spool 13 above described comprises a charging roller for the towel cabinet. A long strip of toweling 16 is secured to the roller by inserting one endfof the strip in a groove 17 formed in a hub 17 mounted on shaft 12. The end of the toweling is pressed tightly in the groove 17 by means of a bar 18 mounted on springs 19, which springs 19 are secured to the hub 17 by means of screws 20, or in any other suitable manner. The ends of the bar 18 extend through slots 21 formed in the end 13 of the spool, so lthat the ends of the bar 18 may be easily grasped by the spool. The toweling is then wound tightly around the hub of the spool and the free end of the toweling passed downwardly from the spool between an upper roller 22 and an intermediate roller 23, thence through a slot 24 formed in the door 6 of the cabinet, thence extending downwardly outside of the cabinet forming a loop 25, thence through a slot 26 below the slot 24 in the door of the cabinet, thence between the intermediate roller 23 and a lower roller 27. The end 28 of the towel extends downwardly into the interior of the cabinet wherein it piles up in the manner indicated at 29 on the bottom 3 of the cabinet. The rollers 22, 23 and 27 are provided with shafts 30, 31 and 32, respectively,

which extend outwardly from the ends of the respective rollers. The ends of the shaft 30 are supported in blocks 33 mounted to slide vertically in slots 34 formed in a frame 35. The ends of the shaft 31 of the intermediate roller 23 are mounted in slots 36 which are formed in the frame 35, and the Patented Apr. '7, 1914.

`person securing the towel on the shaft 32 of the roller 27 is rotatably mounted in the frame 35. The rollers are held in frictional contact with the strip of toweling 16 by means of springs 37 interposed between vertically slidable blocks 37 on the end of screws 38 and the top of the blocks 33. The screws 38 are mounted in suitable brackets 39 secured to the frame 35 and are also pro-l vided at their upper ends with handle means 40. On the outer side of eachvframe pivotally mounted on a pin 41 is an arm 42 having a curved upper portion 43 and a stra-ight roller 23 yprovides a frictional Y through the side wall 5 of l taining a long'strip is also handle lportion 44 extending downwardly therefrom. The curved portion 43 of each Y the roller 23, thereby holding the shaft 23 bof thel roller the slot 36 of the frame 35. This construction provides a means 'for quickly removing the roller 23 for the purpose of threading the strip of toweling between the rollers and through the slotsl in the door of the cabinet which is accomplished by swinging the arms 42 upwardly and outwardly which raises theV roller 32 and clears the slots 36 so that the intermediate may befreadily removed from the frame35.

The rollers 22, v23 and 27 are preferablyY formed with a coating vof rubber which contact between the rollers and strip of toweling therebetween, thereby preventing the toweling from, being twisted between the rollers. The rollers 22, 23 and 27 are driven through gearv50 mounted on the end of shaft 30 ofthe upper roller, gear 51 mounted o-n the shaft 3l of the intermediate roller, and gear 52 mounted on shaft 32 of the lower roller, which gears 50, 51 and 52 are in mesh with each other. 'The shaft 32 of the lower roller 27 provided with a `gear 53 meshing with an intermediate gear 53 onlthe side wall 5 which meshes with av driving gear 54 mounted on av shaft 55 which extends the cabinet to the exterior thereof, atrwhich point the shaft 55 has mounted thereon crank means 56..

The loop 25 of the Strip of toweling 16 which extends through the slots' 24 and 26 formed in lthe door 6 of the cabinet is of suicient length to provide an ample length of toweling for a person to freely use the same. f. l

4The cabinet above described is operated in the following manner. The spool 13 conmgl been mounted in the brackets 10,. as

.loop 25 in frontz of the described, thence between above described, the end ofthe strip of toweling "isft'hen'lpassed betweenthe upper and intermediate-rollers 22 and 23, respectively, thence .through the slot 24 in the door of the cabinetv to the exterior thereof, thence returning to the exterior of the cabinetthrough slot 26 lin the door, forming a cabinet, as above the intermediate l .Y and lowerrollers 23 and 27, respectively, and

is ready for 'use. After a ortion of the loop I 25 has been used and ecome soiled, the next person desiring to use the towel operates the crank 56 on the shaft 55 and drives the rollers 22, 23 and .27 respectively,

through gears 54, 53, l5 2, -51"and 50. `The portion of the toweling '10, consisting i with a shoe58 of 'clean toweling hav-f.

68 on the bracket 6 6 rounded' head 70 which head is adapted to ride in the recess action of the rollers pulls the strip of toweling 16 therebetween causing the spool 13 to rotate, unwinding the strip :of toweling therefrom which passes through the slot 24 to the outer side of the loop 25, the soiled passing to the rear of rvtheloop 25, or to the unexposed portion thereof, -thereby presenting a clean strip ofv toweling on the front of the loop 25. The return portion of the loop 25 passes through the slot 26 in the door 6, thence between rollers 23' and 27 to the bottom of the cabinet where it piles up until the clean toweling on the'spool 13 has beenexhausted. The end of the toweling is then removed from the spool 13 and the soiled toweling removed from the bottom of the cabinet and either an entirely new spool with clean toweling thereon is placed in thefbrackets 10, Aor a clean strip of toweling is mounted on the spool 13 while the same is still in the cabinet. In; either `ease the outer end-of the clean vstrip of towelin is mounted in the rollers and slots in t e front ofthe cabinet, as, heretofore described.

For the purpose of preventing a strip of toweling from becoming loosev between. the

.spool 13 and the-rollers 22 and 23, a friction device is mounted on one of the brackets of apflat spring 57 provided which ispressed against one of the ends 13 of the spool by means of any suitable manner to one'. of the-brackets 10.

In the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the cabinetis designed to be operated by a suitable source of electrical energy, in 'which case the-gear 53 on the 4shaft 32 meshes with a gear 60 driven'by a gear 61 which in turn isdriven by a trainof gears 62 'from amotor 63. The gear 61 is mounted on a vshaft 61 cess 83 .onone face thereof. At `011e portion of the recess 83,'.in the face of the gear 61,A is provided a perforation 64 whichextends throughthegear 61 and having 1nsertedtherein. a sleeve 65 of insulating maj terial. A bracket 66 is mounted onthe side wall 5 oflthe cabinet in any suitablel manlnera-nd insulated 'therefrom by means of an insulating block 67. Pivotally mounted -at is an arm 69 having a on the upper end thereof,

83 formed in the'face of the -gear wheel 61 and also adapted to enter the opening in the sleeve 65 when the gear wheel is in proper rotative position to be engaged therey. The upper end of the arm 69 is also provided with an extension 71 adapted to contact with a plate 72. lower end of the 'arm 69,` and extending through an open1ng73 in the side wall- 5 of Pivoted to thel Abolt 59 -mounted in a bracket' 60, which bracket 60 is secured in rsecuredto-theside -wall 5 o f the cabinet-and is provided with -a circular depression or re- A the cabinet, is a rod 69., the outer end of' :rimasta 'v '9' which is adapted to be pressed by the finger of theperson operating the cabinet. i The head 70 'of the arm 69 is' heldl in engagement withvthereces's 83 in the face of the gear 61 or with the opening in the insulating sleeve 65, as the case may be, byxmeans'of a spring 74 interposed between t side wall 5 of the cabinet. The motor is connected by wire 75 tothe arm 69 and by wire 76 to theshaft 61 'of the gear wheel 61. The motor. is also connected through wire 76 and wire 7 7 t0 plate 72 on the inner side of the side wall 5 of the cabinet.

The form of cabinet shown in Figs. 7 and 8l is operated in the following manner. lt is understood that 4the form shown inf Figs. 7 and 8 is provided with aspool 13 and-with rollers 22, 23 and 27 of the same form as that shown in the lpreceding figur h the rollers the cabinet in the same mannerf as i fore described in reference tothe preceding figures. When Ait is desired to operate, the' cabinet for the purpose 'of exposing aclean strip of toweling, therod 69 is pressed in wardly which raises vthe head 70 free of the sleeve inthe gear wheel 61, whichfsame action brings the extension71into contact with plate 2.

f closes anelectric circuit from theplate 72,

. thereby wire 77 and wire 7 6 to themotor, and from the motor through which starts the operation -of the motor,

driving the I through gears 50,51, 52, 53, 60, Gland train 0f gears' 62,

wheel 61` rotates in the vdirection of the arrow shown: in Fig. 7. Upon the pressure on rod 69 beingv released, .the spring 74 moves the extension 71 on the upper end o the arm 69 away'from plate 2, therebyv breaking the circuit through the wires just describedand bringing .the head on the. arin 69 into. engagement with the recessl 83 of the gear wheel 61, p cuit through gearl wheel 61, shaft 6'1", -wire thereby closing aV cir- 7 6, motor causing the continued operation ofthe moe arm 69v and the,`

es, and` that the i rllhisposition ofr the arm 69 wire `to the arm 69,l

rollers 22, 23 and' 27 during which operation gear..

63, wire y7 5 and .arm 69,` thereby J tor untilthe gear wheel 61 has made a sin! gle rotation and the insulating sleeve 65 has a moved. under the head 70 on thearm69, at which pointthe spring 74 presses the head 70 into the openinglin the sleeve y65, which sleeve 65l breaks t e` circuit between gear wheel 61 and the arm 69, and at thesame timethe engagement of the head 70 with the sleeve 65 .prevents further rotation of the gear Wheel 61.. I p' It is understood that the diameterv of the gear wheel 61 is designed so that a single rotation'of the gear'wheel permits the required movement of the strip of toweling to present a clean ,portion of the same foruse.

A towel cabinet comprising a case having.

an upper and lower slot therein, a pair of frames secured'to the inside of said case,

slot therein 'an a a lower roller rotaa shaft each having a vertical horizontalI slot therein, tably l mounted on said vframes,

mounted in said horizontalfslots, an inter' mediate roller mounted on said. shaft,iablock in said'vertical slot slidable therein, ashaft mounted in` said blocks,

arm mounted on each frame engaged by one of said .blocks and' extending shafton the intermediate roller andthe upl an upper roller. mounted on said last named shaft, a curved between the per end of the'horizontal slots in 'said frames,

a spool mounted 'in re'ceive .a strip of placed as to admit of passing one' end of the strip of toweling` between said-supper and intermediate roller in saidcase, thence through said upper slot to' the exterior of the case to form a loop, lower slot in said case,

intermediate and lower-rollers in said case,

y said voase and'adapted totoweling thereon, and Iso 7 thence .through the i ,thence between they and means for rotating said rollers to cause In prese'ce A. Germani,

FRANK L. 'ISABEL f said strip of toweling totrav'el therebetween.

n. sn-Arianex I 

